• Arisaka Rifles
  • Type-38
  • Type-99
• Nambu Pistols
  • Type XX
  • Type XX
• Machine Guns
  • Type XX

Like most infantrymen during WWII, the average Japanese soldier carried, not a machine gun, but a bolt action rifle. Originally designed in 1905, the T-38 Arisaka rifle (named after its inventor, Col. Nariaki Arisaka) was a 6.5mm, mauser-type weapon. Battlefield experience though, soon indicated a more powerful cartridge was required and thus the Type-99 rifle was developed.  Like the T-38, the T-99 was first issued in a "long rifle" configuration, but this was soon shortened to a more managable length, similar to the German K.98k or the American M-1 Garand. The T-99 used the potent  7.7mm cartridge.... add about not issued as much as T-38

As wartime shortages became more acute,  design modifications both simplified and made production of the rifle more economical. The decline is illustrated in the three photos above.  The "last ditch" or substitue T-99 had a wooden butt plate and fixed rear sights, and eliminated the cleaning rod altogether.

For reenacting purposes, the general consensus is for the early T-99, with sling, front sight protectors, adjustable rear sights, and  dust cover. Alternatively, the last ditch model can be used, and the  really budget-minded reenactor might opt for  a Turkish Mauser, which are both plentiful and cheap, although their use is really not encouraged.